Recently, @GenealogyJen tweeted about an opportunity to transcribe documents contained in the American National Archives. Being perpetually curious about new resources I skipped over to the website and found a treasure trove of material. The first document that caught my eye was from the Freedmans Bureau from the Rice Hope Plantation Office (1865-1868) in South Carolina. It listed 4 orphans from the Fife Plantation. The Fife Plantation was located 6 miles from Savannah in Beaufort County, South Carolina

Elisa Brant, age 12, a girlAdrian Freagare?, age 10, a girlCharlotte Freagare?, age 6, a girlJudy Small, age 6, a girl

All 4 childrens' parents are described as 'lost in the War.' The document gives no indication as to what became of these little girls after their names were recorded. I wonder did they survive, were they taken in by other family members or did their parents return to find them? If you know of these little girls or what became of them, please post in the comments below.

Elsa, Adrian, Charlotte and Judy, were all born into slavery, and their former owner is noted as Y? H Hayman/Hayward? However, a researcher who contributed to rootsweb named Tom Blake, identifies the owners of Fife Plantation at that time, as William Henry Heyward and James B Heyward. William Henry Heyward is listed in the 1860 Slave Schedule as a slave owner in St. Peter's Parish, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

This research has been undertaken as a contribution to the #SlaveNameRollProject.